People

The Green Sheikh

When traveling around the world you learn that interesting encounters are behind every corner. Even in countries who are not well-known for their sustainable efforts you meet people who contribute to the environment and show you that even here the awareness is raising. In the United Arab Emirates I had the honor to meet Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, member of the royal family of Ajman and also known as the Green Sheikh. I contacted him via e-mail and within a few hours I received a message from his team saying that he was delighted to meet me and wanted to enlighten me with his spiritual energy.

The Green Sheikh has a background as chemical & petroleum engineer and converted to an environmental advocate in the early 90’s, after discovering challenges as climate change, waste, human wellbeing, food and water. He has a clear vision on sustainability and has a wider approach on this subject as he sees “peace, love and respect” also important aspects in his vision. Abdulaziz names good families and good values as some examples of his approach which all lead to not further damaging the planet. A more holistic approach with clearly influences from the Muslim religion. Holistic approaches on sustainability we see being implemented by many businesses nowadays, however more Western Europe as in the areas that I have just crossed so it’s interesting to see that the Sheikh has been doing this for years.

How sustainable or non-sustainable is the UAE exactly? I wanted the know. The UAE has a clear vision on energy. in 2050 half of the countries energy need will be provided by renewable energy, the other half will be clean of fossil fuel. AbdulAziz says. Resources for the other half coming from nuclear energy.

Vincent Everts is a trendwatcher, TV-host, gadgetfreak and most of all EV-enthusiast. In his Tesla Model S he invited people from the industry to talk about their business. When I launched the website of Plug Me In back in June Vincent picked it up immideately and invited me in his Tesla. Back then the project was still a concept. When he heard that I was on my way he send me a text and invited me to come over for bed, bread and battery.

During this evening I asked Vincent about the future of electric cars and e-mobility, the new Tesla Model X and 3 and his vision on sustainability.

GEEF Cafe (literally translation: GIVE Cafe) is a restaurant/ lunchroom where you can pay-as-you-can. People with more money to spend can give a meal, coffee or tea to someone who has less.

The restaurant was founded by Judith Manshanden who’s been working on this concept for several years. It was hard to find the right people to believe in the concept and after having several tries she finally managed to get het own location right in the Jordaan, the cosiest neighborhood in Amsterdam.

Watch the interview to hear how she managed to start the restaurant, what she thinks about the term ‘sustainability’ and she gave me an interesting tast to take on with me during the journey.